The ‘Sexist’ Ron DeSantis Attack Against Nikki Haley That Wasn’t

Anytime you have a woman running for public office, nine times out of ten there will be mainstream media reporters who are specifically assigned to the "sexism" beat - where they look for evidence and/or accusations, lacking or not, of alleged sexism being displayed by their male opponents/staffers/supporters, etc.

Most often they'll focus on any supposed sexism against female Democratic figures because, in their view, female Republicans are not real women or something. But occasionally there will be a reporter who will follow the campaigns of Republican women if for no other reason than to keep the tiresome stereotype of the knuckle-dragging conservative man alive.

READ: Outright Hilarity Commences After WaPo 'Reporters' Clash on Twitter Over ‘Sexist’ Retweet

Such was apparently the case after Wednesday's CNN GOP presidential debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Trump ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley.

DeSantis used the phrase "pale pastels" a couple of times at the debate, including one instance where he said, "We need to fly a flag of bold colors, carrying the banner putting the American people first, not the pale pastels of the warmed-over corporatism of people like Nikki Haley."

Because Haley herself was wearing a pale pink dress, and because they see sexism in literally everything, the mainstream media rushed to insinuate sexism was at play, with several "news" outlets referencing the remark and treating it in some ways like Mitt Romney's 2012 "binders full of women" gaffe.

For instance, here's how NBC News reported on DeSantis' use of the phrase:

And he accused her of being inspired by Hillary Clinton and of painting, metaphorically, with "pale pastels” — an eyebrow-raising word choice to attack the first female governor of South Carolina, especially because she was wearing a pastel top. DeSantis used the phrase multiple times.

The Washington Times ran an Associated Press story that contained the headline "DeSantis rips Haley with ‘pale pastels’ insult" and framed it like this:

DeSantis has twice used the phrasing of "pale pastels" as a knock on Haley. She is the only woman in the race, and she is standing next to him on stage, clad in a pastel pink dress. https://t.co/fGAsr0xQRC
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) January 11, 2024

And here are two other NBC News journos who were live-blogging/tweeting during the debate who played the "sexism" card:

This is great. Vitali thought her jab at DeSantis was so clever, she published it on NBC News’s live blog too. Her colleague then chimed in to say the “pale pastels” line is from DeSantis’s stump speech, agreeing it “comes across differently” against Haley too.

Neither of these… pic.twitter.com/8H0GxjdCss
— Emily Jashinsky (@emilyjashinsky) January 11, 2024

As Jashinsky correctly pointed out, though, "pale pastels" is a Reagan line going back to the late 1970s, and is one often used by conservatives including DeSantis:

"Neither of these professional political reporters seems aware DeSantis is using a Reagan quote—one that gets dropped all the time in conservative circles."

Watch:

This is Ronald Reagan's "Pale Pastels" speech from after the 1974 election that Ron DeSantis was referencing.pic.twitter.com/ON3qYkKOfi
— RRH Elections (@RRHElections) January 11, 2024

So no, DeSantis' "pale pastels" remarks had nothing to do with Nikki Haley's clothing nor women in general, and it sure would be nice if our intellectual betters in the mainstream press could save their fire for actual instances of sexism instead of watering the word down to the point it has become meaningless.